How do the Sennheiser Momentum headphones compare to the Beyerdynamic DT 990?

It's not the easiest comparison as one is fully open and the other is fully closed, so naturally they're quite different animals; but the Momentum has more bass and 'slam' (this also depends on the amp as DT990 can be turned into a bass monster).

Also the Momentum's soundstage doesn't come anywhere close to the DT990. It's not a bad stage though.

In terms of resolution and detail, the Momentum is the clear winner. No doubt.

Out of the two I prefer the Momentum for it's natural timbre, but the DT990 comes very close.

so last night i left my Momentums in the car for like 5 hours . it was like 30 degrees Farenheit. when i went back i opend the case and the headphones cold. The earpads were like frozen stiff. I put them on and in like 10 min the earpads went back to normal. I'm wondering if cold weather will damage these. Or will it be fine.

so last night i left my Momentums in the car for like 5 hours . it was like 30 degrees Farenheit. when i went back i opend the case and the headphones cold. The earpads were like frozen stiff. I put them on and in like 10 min the earpads went back to normal. I'm wondering if cold weather will damage these. Or will it be fine.

Should be fine.

If ice-mummies are anything to go by, your headphones were preserved for 5 hours, so should last even longer!

On a more serious note, don't bring them out from the cold straight into a warm room, as they will experience rapid surface condensation, which isn't great for the drivers.

If it happens again, put it into a plastic bag and let them warm up slowly indoors without direct contact to the warm air.

I know I won't put a silk driver in a car stereo ever again because of the aforementioned condensation and temperature issues. Not only could I hear a difference depending I've actually seen them wear out much more quickly than stiffer materials (and much faster than any audio driver ever should).

Just one experience for you... so it could be a relevant discussion for headphone drivers

I currently listen to mine hooked up directly to my 2012 Macbook Air. I primarily stream music from Rdio which I believe uses 192kbps LAME encoded mp3s (I was not able to tell a difference between this and MOG's 320kbps mp3s).

While the Air outputs enough power to drive the headphones way beyond tolerable listening volumes, I'm wondering if getting an amp/dac, such as an E17, would be a good investment for improving sound quality, or if the difference would be negligible. If an amp/dac is worthwhile, I would prefer it to be portable (for bringing to and from work) and cost under $150.

In my experience, the E17 offers a subtle improvement in sound when hooked up to my MacBook Pro, plus you might find the treble and bass or balance controls useful. It's not a night and day difference, but the sound is slightly bigger, rounder, deeper and cleaner.

There's a bigger difference when the E17 is hooked up to my Lenovo work laptop, which has worse inbuilt sound than the Mac. I'm happy with the sound improvement, but it's still not giant, so whether the E17 is worth it depends how picky you are. :)

Usually when I'm listening to my Mac, I plug the Momentums straight into it. It's just less hassle. If I want better sound while I'm surfing the web in the living room I'll break out my bigger headphones, CLAS and Continental amp.

I'd recommend getting the E17 from a place with a return policy, so you can return it if you don't find the sound improvement significant enough.

2) stupid cable. Feels flimsy. The HD25 is half the price and has a heavy duty cable. What the hell's wrong with Sennheiser?? I use the one without the remote (connected to a Cowon J3) and not only is it flimsy, it also doesn't have the bendable jack plug

3) Quite comfy, good fit, and compact

4) very nice soundstage

5) not as clinical as the HD25s

6) not as aggressive on the treble

So ultimately, disappointed, but not in the sound. €300 euros for a useless remote, and silly cable otherwise? Clearly for the iPhone crowd, but at least they'll get a good sounding pair of headphones.

I actually like the non-remote cable. It's the right length and is non-microphonic. It feels supple to me, not flimsy. Want to see a ridiculous, flimsy cable? Check out the POS that Logitech includes with the UE6000.

Two things I fault Sennheiser for on the Momentum remoteless cable design: As you mentioned, the lack of an adjustable jack on the device end, and using a proprietary connector for the headphone end. A standard 3.5mm jack there would have been a much better choice from a customer's point of view.

2) stupid cable. Feels flimsy. The HD25 is half the price and has a heavy duty cable. What the hell's wrong with Sennheiser?? I use the one without the remote (connected to a Cowon J3) and not only is it flimsy, it also doesn't have the bendable jack plug

3) Quite comfy, good fit, and compact

4) very nice soundstage

5) not as clinical as the HD25s

6) not as aggressive on the treble

So ultimately, disappointed, but not in the sound. €300 euros for a useless remote, and silly cable otherwise? Clearly for the iPhone crowd, but at least they'll get a good sounding pair of headphones.

The Momentum is supposed to be a portable headphone, while the HD25 is a workhorse headphone, so it should be as light and flexible as possible.

I've been using the Momentum almost daily outdoors for about 3 months with the remote-less cable and can report that after a lot of use (and some accidental abuse) the cable is actually rather excellent.

about cables: meanwhile in grado labs....
and personally i think the cables are okay for portable use, not sure why they rave about needing thin cables for portable use (but i do think the cable is a tad too long for convenient portable use)

The cable feels durable in my opinion, at first I thought this ain't gonna last me a week. But I have used and abused the Momentums for more than a month straight, withouth worrying too much about the cables.

Funny thing is that I broke the cables of the Shure SE215 with about two month of use. Shure SE215 cables are what you call stiff and sturdy, well made cables, but it broke down on the jack connector causing the sound to go in and out. I ended up buying another pair of SE215 rather than the replacement cables because they were like 49€ plus shipping, while new SE215 costed me 79€. No troubles so far with those.

But back on topic, I use the cable without the remote. No troubles so far, and I had it being like stuck in door knobs, pulled out by passing by persons, sniffed by my chewing bunny, and all bad that can happen to a cable.

about cables: meanwhile in grado labs....
and personally i think the cables are okay for portable use, not sure why they rave about needing thin cables for portable use (but i do think the cable is a tad too long for convenient portable use)

Yes... when the cable is thicker than the headband you do start to wonder